Inching closer to wireless hi-def video

The backers of Wireless Home Digital Interface plan to announce they are officially banding together Wednesday. But we're still months, or even a year from true, interoperable devices that can send high-definition video between themselves.

Wireless Home Digital Interface, or WHDI, sends uncompressed, high-definition video signals over the unlicensed 5-Gigahertz band. The backers of it say its immune to obstructions like walls and can deliver a signal that covers an entire home--that means setting up a settop box in a basement and connecting it wirelessly to a 1080p TV in an upstairs bedroom.

But we've been hearing this stuff for years. Several different standards have been proposed, and consumer electronics vendors have even announced products, but they've been very slow to trickle out to the market.

There's been more movement in this industry of late (Sony, and Sharp have released wireless HD video products this year, and Belkin is promising something for October), but we're still waiting for the floodgates to open where all the top-tier manufacturers have TVs with a wireless HD connectivity option.
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Microsoft speaks on Games for Windows Live changes

Q&A If you missed our earlier post on Microsoft's announcements from the GameFest 2008 conference, here's a brief recap:

• Games for Windows Live is now free at all membership levels
• In the fall, Microsoft will launch a digital distribution service called the Games for Windows Live Marketplace
• DirectX 11 is official, and it will include support for GPU programming, among other new features.

We had a chance to talk to Kevin Unangst, Microsoft's senior director of Global Gaming , and he provided some more details.

What was the deciding factor that lead Microsoft to drop the Gold-level membership fee for Games for Windows Live?
Since we introduced Games for Windows Live we've listened to developers and to PC gamers and they said look, there's a baseline expectation that multiplayer is a service that is just free on Windows; that is just how it works. Looking at it from a competitive angle, it makes sense for us to deliver on that expectation and to go above and beyond. We're confident we have the best matchmaking service on the planet with TruSkill matchmaking and we want to make sure that's available to the largest group of Windows gamers. Making this decision really was a natural part of focusing on what gamers want and what game developers told us what they wanted.
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DIY 8mm projector and camera

The last time I stumbled upon an 8mm projector, it was a prop in a movie set set in the 1970s. As for an 8mm camera, it was behind a glass case in an exhibition about the history of film-making. These near antique devices are long forgotten in our current high-definition era, but there is something nostalgic about the grainy, flickering effect of films shot and viewed on 8mm devices.

Hobby-kit manfacturer Gakken has always taken a hands-on approach for its products. It used to churn out DIY pinhole cameras, but recently, an 8mm projector was spotted in its portfolio.

The projector is hand-cranked so the frame rate is dependent on how fast you can rotate the handle. Instead of the usual heat-emitting bulb as a concession to modern times, an LED is used to light up the film strips. In true Gakken style, it comes in a flat package (think IKEA) and you get to glue everything together like a fix-it-kit.

The 8mm camera has yet to be announced by Gakken, but is already making its round on the Web. It is reported that this no-frills model will run on normal batteries and is lightweight enough for aspiring film-makers to ferry around. Only thing that would be hard to find is 8mm film stock.

Sadly, Gakken is not available in every Asian city, so your best bet would probably be eBay or a friend in Japan.

Via Gizmodo and CScout Japan

Report: Facebook growing faster than MySpace

MySpace is still the top dog among social networks in the US, according to researcher Hitwise, but its No. 2 rival Facebook is gaining fast.

MySpace attracted as much as 73 percent of US visitor market share for social networks in June, down by 6 percent from the same period last year, according to a report released Wednesday from Hitwise. Facebook, its more staid social rival, lured about 17 percent of the US market, up 40 percent from June 2007.

It's still a wide margin, but Facebook's threat looms large. And Facebook's COO Sheryl Sandberg emphasized this week that the company's primary goal is growth.
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Warner Bros. moves against Web copies of Dark Knight

Warner Bros. is going after the sites that posted pirated copies of the film The Dark Knight.

CNET News reported Monday that copies of the hit new Batman film could be found at several Web sites. Now, a spokesman for the studio said Warner Bros. is taking action.

"We actively search for these sites and services and have them taken down," said Craig Hoffman, a spokesman for Warner Bros.' worldwide antipiracy and technical operations. "While so far we have had compliance with our requests, we certainly reserve our rights to take whatever legal action necessary to protect our intellectual property."

Warner Bros. does see one positive in the pirating of The Dark Knight, Hoffman said. No copies of the film circulated before the film's theater debut.
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